Beauséjour riding (formerly known as Beauséjour—Petitcodiac) is a federal electoral district in southeastern New Brunswick, Canada, which has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1988. It replaced Westmorland—Kent, which was represented from 1968 to 1988.
Beauséjour is largely Acadian and Francophone, with a significant Anglophone section in the southern section of the riding.
The riding consists of most of Westmorland County to the east and north of Moncton; and a large portion of Kent County. Major towns in the riding include Shediac, Cap-Pelé, Sackville, Bouctouche, Richibucto and the Southern and Eastern portions of Dieppe. The neighbouring ridings are Miramichi—Grand Lake, Fundy Royal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, and Cumberland—Colchester in Nova Scotia; it is connected to the riding of Malpeque on Prince Edward Island by the Confederation Bridge.
Westmorland—Kent was created in 1966 from Kent, and part of Westmorland that was not included in the Moncton riding. It was abolished when it was incorporated into the new riding of Beauséjour in 1987.
Beauséjour was created in 1987 primarily from Westmorland—Kent, incorporating parts of Moncton and Northumberland—Miramichi ridings. Between a 1990 by-election and 1993, it was the seat of Liberal leader and later Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.
In 1997, it was renamed "Beauséjour—Petitcodiac", and expanded to include most of Albert County and the Petitcodiac area of western Westmorland County. This created a "doughnut" around Greater Moncton, which was a separate district.
In 2003, Beauséjour—Petitcodiac was abolished when it was redistributed into a new Beauséjour riding and into Fundy riding.
The new Beauséjour riding was created primarily from Beauséjour—Petitcodiac, incorporating parts of Miramichi and Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe ridings.
in the 2012 federal electoral redistribution, the riding lost a large portion of western Kent County to Miramichi—Grand Lake and a portion of Moncton Parish to Fundy Royal, but gained a portion of western Dieppe from Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe.
Former Governor General of Canada Roméo LeBlanc represented Beauséjour from 1972 to 1984. His son, Dominic LeBlanc, is its current MP.
Former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien represented Beauséjour for a short time in the early 1990s after he won the Liberal leadership. Chrétien did not have a seat in the House of Commons at the time, and the sitting MP stepped down to allow him to run in a by-election.
Since its creation, the riding has voted Liberal in every election except 1997, when it elected Angela Vautour of the New Democratic Party. Vautour switched to the Progressive Conservatives midway through her term, and was defeated in 2000.
Riding associations are the local branches of the national political parties:
This riding has elected the following members of Parliament:
Change for Progressive Conservative candidate Angela Vautour are based on the party's results in 1997. She personally received 6.88% fewer votes based on her results as an NDP candidate. Change for the Canadian Alliance for 1997 are based on the results of its predecessor, the Reform Party.
All changes are from the 1990 by-election, with the exception of the Progressive Conservative Party, who did not field a candidate.
In 2011, a student vote was conducted at participating Canadian schools to parallel the 2011 Canadian federal election results. The vote was designed to educate students and simulate the electoral process for persons who have not yet reached the legal majority. Schools with a large student body that reside in another electoral district had the option to vote for candidates outside of the electoral district then where they were physically located.[12]
Riding history from the Library of Parliament: